first-level course


Enrollment for first-level studies at the >Artes Liberales< Academy has been suspended in the 2011/2012 academic year.


Every student of the three-year first-level course at the »Artes Liberales« Academy (AAL) completes a fully individual program of study, compatible with the student’s personal preferences and passions, under the supervision of a tutor. As students of a specific course at their home university, students are obligated to obtain credits for classes mandatory in that course (most often in the individual study program or individual timetable mode), whereas within the »Artes Liberales« Academy and in consultation with their tutor, they have the right to choose from among disciplines and subjects included in the courses offered by all eight confederated universities. Developing their own program of study requires students to show maturity and huge discipline.

Furthermore, the Academy’s students can take advantage of special seminars, workshops, conferences, class modules and lectures from the humanities in a broad sense, in which they may take part in accordance with their interests. The special experience in which the interdisciplinary character of the »Artes Liberales« Academy manifests itself are the “sessions”: two or three specialization sessions and one main session per year. These are meetings of the Academy’s students organized by the different universities in turn, devoted to specific issues considered from the point of view of different academic disciplines. As a summary of each session, students write an essay on one of the themes covered during a given meeting. Over the course of one year, students are obligated to obtain a credit for one specialization session, which lasts 2-3 days, and for the main session usually lasting a week.

Completing a year

Students accepted for the first-level course at the Academy participate in a preparatory traineeship that includes taking part in a special AAL session (May), writing a short essay after this session (by mid-July) and completing a task set by their external tutor (by the end of August). Completing the traineeship is an essential condition for beginning studies at a university other than the student’s home university as part of the first-level course of study at the »Artes Liberales« Academy.

The course proper begins in October and involves a point system; points are awarded for classes for which a student receives graded credits. The three-year program of first-level studies at the »Artes Liberales« Academy encompasses 600 class hours (300 AAL points) that the students complete by taking part in classes at another university and AAL sessions. To complete a year at the Academy, students also have to write a yearly paper under their tutor’s supervision.



Distribution of points:
Lp.   Number of points
1. "sesja" główna AAL - AAL main session - participation + post-session essay 30
2. "sesja" specjalizacyjna AAL AAL specialization session - participation + post-session essay 15
3. taking part in a conference, symposium, workshop (per event attended) do up to 15 (depending on the individual decision of the AAL Council)
4. taking part in classes at another university + mandatory grade 15 (per each 30 hours)
5. extra yearly paper for the AAL do 12 up to 12 (depending on the grade

Final exam and »Artes Liberales« Academy degree certificate

Upon completing the three-year program at the »Artes Liberales« Academy, students may apply to continue their education in the AAL’s two-year second-level studies. Like all candidates, to do so they have to submit a research project plan.
Students may also end their studies after three years and sit an oral exam covering material specified by the »Artes Liberales« Academy Council. Apart from the student’s two tutors, the exam board comprises a member of the AAL Council and an expert invited by the Council.
Upon passing the exam, the graduate of the three-year first-level studies at the »Artes Liberales« Academy receives a degree certificate signed by the rectors of all the universities confederated in the »Artes Liberales« Academy and listing all classes attended and credited.